Tuesday, July 28, 2015

But to me he will always be the rocket scientist who played the veena for that was what that piqued my interest when i first heard of him.

He was the child born at a seashore village in Tamilnadu who dreamt of the sky. He was the epitome of the man who transformed his dreams into reality. That dreams were not just dreams but could be transformed into reality.

“Dream, Dream Dream
Dreams transform into thoughts
And thoughts result in action.”

Failure simply meant try again or try something else for him.

At 83 he was still dreaming for India.

Alas the the dreamer of dreams is no more as he has slept through his final dream.

Tuesday, July 14, 2015

I was thinking about the lowyat incident. How could a thief be so entitled and dumb to attack someone at a place where they had been caught stealing.

Then it was revealed he was 22 and jobless and it made so much sense - ah the entitled generation.

This is the generation that believes that everyone owes them. that the moment they graduate they should be showered with money, should be able to buy expensive smart phones, drive high end cars and shop till they drop.

Didn't we just hear another Gen Y claim the same (Zahra?). Well they're not alone in their expectations. Ask anyone who interviews Gen Y and hires them. They will tell you stories of how much these generation thinks the world owes them, and yet barely deliver on what is expected of them.

They're not jobless coz there are no jobs, they are jobless coz they are unhireable or have been joining and resigning jobs every few months once. Basically unreliable candidates who blame everyone else but themselves. Just take a look at the resumes on Job sites. It is pretty amazing how so many have the same profile.

I've been saying that i have no idea how the world will be in 10 years time, when the job market should be filled with gen ys.

looks like we don't have to wait to find out.

A bunch just started a riot coz they felt entitled enough to lie and stir up other equally entitled and easily manipulated people.

Tuesday, June 30, 2015

We're living on borrowed cash that doesn't exist - Visithra Manikamps: how do i trademark this one liner/ quote - damn proud of it ;pUpdate: figured it out - its submitted hereV-Eyez Imagery
My photography blogV-Eyez Imagery on Facebook

Tuesday, June 09, 2015

If you are looking about
the two Canadian siblings Danielle and Lindsey
Petersen who are or were, students at the University of Regina, that have been heldback
from leaving Malaysia for the offense of going naked on the top of mount
Kinabalu. Let me explain what’s going on.

The two are being held
and investigated on the grounds that –

Public nudity is an
offence in Malaysia. Under Section 294a, a person guilty of committing an
obscene act in any public place can be jailed three months, fined or both.

Which apparently is
something that is illegal even in Canada – though debatable apparently.

Canada has a tangle of confusing and inconsistently-enforced nudity laws.Strictly speaking, s. 174 of Canada’s Criminal Code forbids nudity in public places or on private property that is exposed to public view “without a lawful excuse.”This is a summary conviction offence, meaning it’s a less serious type of crime. It’s punishable by six months in jail, a $5,000 fine, or both.

The local Tribal communityin
Sabah however believe it has angered the spirits and guardians of the mountain
(Kinabalu) which is revered as a sacred
place. Their actions are akin to someone walking into say the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Quebec or Soldier mountain
(sacred to Ajumawi indians), Fall River valley, stripping naked and peeing.

Despite numerous pleas from the local
guide, the group of tourists stripped and peed on the summit.

So not only have they disrespected
local culture and believes, they have broken a law in Malaysia.

Perhaps try reading up on legal laws of
a country and local culture before you attempt to visit or ridicule them?

Tuesday, May 05, 2015

I like to drive fast. Driving was one of the things I wanted to do since I was a kid. But I have stopped driving fast in the last decade. Simply because nearly everyday someone tries to kill me on the road. And the worse part is, I rarely drive at peak hours! I go into work late and leave later just to avoid mad Malaysian drivers.

You cut as you wish.You hit the breaks as you wish.You're fiddling on your phone while driving.You try to get into the third lane from the first at breakneck speed.You stop wherever you wish.You speed in parking lots.You speed in residential areas.You don't use signals.You run traffic lights.You speed the car when the light turns yellow.You complain if you get summoned forgetting you broke the law.You complain if there's a road block.You don't wear seat belts.Your passengers don't wear seat belts.Your kids don't sit in car seats.You don't give way and equally speed up to irresponsible drivers.You go in and out of traffic thinking you're some daredevil driver.

Did you know you can die of accidents even if you're just driving at 20 km/h if you're not wearing a seatbelt?

Did you see how far that poor baby was flung out of the car? There was no way she was inside a car seat.

Did you see how far the parents were flung out?

If I saw people racing on the road, I would back down and clear myself from their path. There's something called driving slower to avoid maniacs.

That CCTV clearly shows the pajero also speeding. You know why? Its bloody ego! No care for whoever is in the car coz you think it WON'T happen to me!

YOU have a choice to BACK Down. YOU have a responsibility to your passengers who trusted their lives in your hands.

More Malaysians die on the road everyday because we are bloody irresponsible idiots.

Look in the mirror and ask yourself if you've never done any of this???

Wednesday, April 08, 2015

i dont have to even think. i would have choosen beautiful coz i am beautiful and i am beautiful for many people. and so are each of you. its okay if you don't think i'm beautiful, that's your choice and i cannot be beautiful for everyone.

i am very grateful for this confidence that i have given that since day one i have been told i am not beautiful for i do not have fair skin like my mother. do you know how many people have walked up to me and shamelessly said "oh such a pity you are not fair like your mother."

unfortunately for them i have always turned back and said, "why whats wrong with being dark. i love being dark and love that i have my fathers colour."

not being the typical size doesn't help either. but people forget that we are attracted to different types of people. there wil lalways be someone who thinks you AS YOU ARE are beautiful.

don't let people make you feel any less. say it after me - YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. and when someone tells you that, learn to say thank you and don't brush it off.

I love these campaigns by Dove. sincerely beautiful

Beautiful is not a bad word. it is a lovely word that can energise people. So you too learn to tell people they are beautiful. especially your loved ones, tell them often, of how beautiful you think they are. even if they brush it off, say it again until they learn to believe it. ‪#‎dove‬‪#‎beautiful‬

Wednesday, April 01, 2015

Do you know theres a way to minimise gst effect - start cooking at home. all fresh food is zero gst rated. and most times you can cook better too. the number of times i have been dissapointed with overpriced salmon dishes outside is unbelivable. which is why i cook them at home.

but seriously think about it - every restaurant is going to hike up prices coz of the domino effect of gst and then above that you're going to get charged gst. we often pay for mediocre food coz its easily available. my friends overseas where gst has been charged for years and where eating out is too expensive, have a habit of cooking and packing lunches.

its not too hard also and way healthier. the truth is we're all bloody lazy, me included. things like cus cus can be prepared like in minutes if you need carbs. like just pour hot water, add butter and salt and tadah you have carbs. rice also cooks pretty fastla. one meal dishes are super easy to prepare like my favourite kunyit stir fry.

you know so many places screw up that beautiful dish? like seriously la!!

there are group buys for a lot of fresh food on fb, join one and buy in bulk for better prices as well.

anyway time to start rethinking how we do things - the stingy one in me is rearing its head lol

I'm stingy. Have always been. And I can mentally calculate price differences in secs which is why I decided to join the fray of gst shoppers. I was due to shop for stuff anyway. While shopping I realized one thing. While I could afford to make some savings for the next few months.

Most ppl who live paycheck to paycheck won't be able to. The cashiers breaking their backs at grocery shops are probably one of them. The queues have been crazy long last few days and yet most have been patient. 2015 isn't going to be any easier than 2014. All I can say is work extra hard to keep the ball rolling.

Monday, March 30, 2015

OMG this is so me! The struggles of a book nerd1 and 13 - is my biggest dilema all the time - especially when packing for trips! 2 and 3 - troy, troy was so screwed up for me. throughout the movie i went, no thats not it, NOOOOOOOOO (in between ogling over brad pitt ;p5, 14 - this is why i am not allowed to buy books and then i bought half a bag full in Hyderabad - hummm ;p7 and 8 - this gets me like arggg 9, 10 - hello you crazy is it11 - ahha15 - when i moved, all the boxes had books in it, half full so the movers wouldnt break their backs, and yet one box still broke and the movers went WTH is in here??? ;p 22 - ahha happened before and i dont care ;p

Monday, February 02, 2015

I just got back from the start of the 125th Thaipusam celebrations here in Kuala Lumpur. The silver chariot procession began earlier tonight and throughout shooting the photos i kept wondering what the heck was different with the chariot! And wahlah - its the OM - the OM is missing! I'm kinda sad - i loved the OM but the new chariot and its lights are quite pretty and they kept it classy and its all golden hues. And Muruga looked so pretty with his red garland - the decorations were just perfect.

This is my 10th year photographing the Thaipusam celebrations! Yes 10 beautiful years!! ;) And I just realised it while writing this post. Damn, I need to put all this in a book soon!

Tuesday, January 27, 2015

So I haven't been here for sometime. well to be honest its easier to post on social media FB, Twitter or Insta - so you can follow me in one of these places.

I turned another year older but I'm glad to report people still think i'm 26/27. yes lol. So yayy to that.

2014 was crazy. that's the best word to describe it. Super highs on one side, super lows on another. By the end of it, I just wanted to move along like can we just go. So the birthday went uncelebrated as we grappled with another set of tragedies.

Thank god I was away travelling coz this is how those few last days went, everytime I got back to the hotel, I would cry after reading the updates of the floods and plane crash.

The thing is I had just traveled through those places in the beautiful state of Kelantan. they are such wonderful people so it was painful to see what they were going through. But ah Malaysians, you made my heart soar, such show of solidarity as so many scrambled to do something for them and many actually went to the states to help.

Of course 2015 doesn't seem to want to tone down. it has been a whirlwind of craziness.

Ah but I travelled so much in 2014, going to places i have wanted to go.

There was the music season in Chennai for the annual birthday trip which included multiple opportunities to watch Rajesh Vaidhya. My god what a birthday it was in 2013 to sit two rows from the stage and watch him play. and of course by mid year the whole count of number of times i've watched him live increased as he turned up in KL not once but twice! i was sitting next to a music teacher I know for one of the concerts and we kept going - omg omg omg. which coincidentally i have in recording ;p lol

Then Thaipusam came and went and I have yet to finish editing the photos - it has been such a busy year.

Then there was the short trip to Perak to shoot a dance arangetram and a stop at Ipoh.

Then there was the trip to Kolkata/ Varanasi. Okay this time i barely stopped at Kolkata. But my second trip to Varanasi was amazing. slightly quieter as it wasn't Shivarathri but still pretty amazing. My flower boy still remembered me and he now speaks wonderful english as compared to a year back. Oh i got interviewed for a Singapore channel, the show aired somewhere in the mid year.

Then there was the trip to Kota Kinabalu. oh how i had missed those islands. Of course i had to get into some drama. How else do you explain getting locked up by the bus driver in a bus? i still think he thought i was a ghost. still at least the KK cops were entertained when i called them for help to save me! ;p

Dammit i miss snorkeling!!

Then I stopped travelling mostly for the World Cup. Omg what a world cup, so many upsets, my poor poor Brazil. I'm still getting teased about that by the way!

Life, work got crazy, too many things going on at the same time. Like i said crazy year.

The gopro has become a daily cam, making it easy to take and upload photos asap and it is so funnnnn. Which means i have posted more photos it than those taken on the dslr. and on some trips i didn't even take the dslr.

This years independance day celebration was a blast not as filled with military but still pretty awesome.

Then I began the non stop travelling spree. First up was beautiful Kelantan - such a beautiful state. from beautiful kerala like backwater canals to beautiful ww2 bridges in the middle of no where to getting caught in a crazy storm before heading to the beach. yeah it was and omg i had nasi dagang. the most yummiest thing ever. sigh how to get nasi dagang here? how? how? how?

Then Navarathri came. Ah what a beautiful time - my favourite festival.

Oh i also did two photo exhibitions last year, got featured in a paper and mag i think. also thanks to getting forced, i made my first photobook in 2 days! yes two days! like was i crazy or what - anyway it needs some reworking coz the text turned out gigantic ;p hehhehe

Then it was the lazy trip to Seminyak, Bali. Well all i do at the beach is hit the water or laze around reading a book. it was my first ime on a surf beach where i was sitting and jumping mad waves ;p That wave in the picture was twice my height! HOly moly!

But of course drama follows and I nearly drowned in a pool coz of a stupid girl. Omg i can finally say it - stupid, stupid girl. i seriously wanted to slap her for her stupidity. I travel the world alone and have never drowned and this happens. haish - some people are just too stupid.

The much awaited Myanmar trip to Yangon and Bagan happened in October. Oh I loved that country and its people. so refreshingly nice and sincere. Bagan was so stunning, and watching the sun rise and set is seriously what an amazing experience, especially the sunrise.

Then there was the quick trip to Singapore to watch Anil Srinivasan in concert and to meet my long lost friend. Wow that was one amazing concert.

For once I managed to be in KL on Christmas itself. Haven't done that for sometime. And KLCC out did itself in the decoration. What a sight. I walked out of the mall and gasped at this sight.

I ended the year in Hyderabad for the annual birthday holiday. Ah i love that city. the weather is so lovely in December. You can just sit outside in the garden and read a book and you won't sweat at all. I kept stopping at places just so i could enjoy the weather. and it would get chilly at night and I'd have to wear a sweather! The city with the perfect weather. Fear not Hyderabad folks, I have been told by numerous folks that this is only a few months thing! but still ;p

The Nizam's have built some amazing structures and i managed to visit others outside the city and in the much hotter parts of the United States of Andhra!!! Hehehe the trademark to that phrase belongs to a friend whom i promptly told - I'm stealing it!

Oh and the city has better taste in clothes than Chennai with its jang overdone gold big prints that drive me crazy.

Anyway as you can see the year has been busy and you're better off following me on Instagram where I post something nearly everyday than look for updates here.

Friday, December 19, 2014

When I was a kid i insisted in decorating our potted fir tree for Christmas - i was about 7 or 9 years old. Every year that i can remember i have celebrated Christmas, usually much more than i do Deepavalli. I was born right in the middle of Christmas and New Year! How can I not celebrate?

That's why i'm always jumping around decorating the office, home, planning christmas parties. and guess what i'm still Hindu and oh all my Christmas's have been vegetarian ;p

All you people mumbling about wishing people or whatever else nonsense, haish go play far far, its CHRISTMASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS ;p

Monday, October 20, 2014

10 years ago, I lost the person who loved me the most – my appa
on this very date, 3 days before Deepavalli. I stopped celebrating that year. It
wasn’t that hard coz I wasn’t very into it.

But every year he’d make sure I got anything I wanted. Every
year I remember I’d delay putting my kolam for Deepavalli as I’d be waiting to
watch the annual pre-deepavalli blockbuster. Even post Astro, I think it was a
tradition of sorts at every home coz it was always a Rajini or Kamal movie.

So by the time I started one of my elaborate kolam designs,
it would be nearly 11 at night. Yet every year he would stay awake along with
me as I took hours to finish my kolam, never really complaining.

He’d spend the whole of the next week protecting my kolam
from being stepped on. No matter who
turned up he’d rush to tell them – watch out for the kolam.

We had another ritual every other year after the morning
prayers at the temple, we would leave for a holiday somewhere. My love of
travelling was inherited from my father. Which is why nearly every Deepavalli, I’m
not here. In one way it is a salute to him in another it’s the best escape from
the general gloom I feel around this time. Though I’m sure he’s mumbling from
above with all the solo travelling I do.

It’s been a rollercoaster year of highs and lows.

I am who I am today because of his passing but not a day
goes by that I didn’t wish he was still around to at least fight with me.

Tuesday, October 07, 2014

The new bali airport (ngurah rai) is pretty messed up. it takes forever to get out (if you need a visa) and if you're not smart and alert you'll be caught in one of the stupid queues. (one of the cops right at the entrance wasn't allowing ppl in unless they showed their departure card, so i blinked and sweetly asked can i go in first? ;p) the security checks reminded me of india. then they make you walk around the whole airport through mazes of shops (like singapore train stations) before you finally get to go to your gate. but guess what for the one hour that i was there i started hearing every single flight changing gates and we too finally had our flight gates changed! such bad management by angkasapuri.so if you're headed there go to the airport early. KLIA 2 on the other hand is another singapore train station clone, miles and miles of walking on both legs of travel. this was the first time i ended up at the gate just mins before boarding coz i kept walking and walking and never found our gate. the newly introduced metered taxi is a sad thing and will probably be kicked off soon on the pretenxt of no demand as everytime you head to the counter they tell you only executive taxis are available so people head back to the couponed lanes. Go ask MAB about it, not me.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Hello blogging world? how are you? sorry been busy but i thought this fb book tag would be lovely here too. I asked to get tagged on this. And then I either didn’t have the time or couldn’t figure out what book to list out. Anyway this list is mostly fiction or history books as I rather read articles on non-fiction matters. But I have a love for stories on people and experiences which is what this list is all about. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown – I read this book at the banks of the river Ganga and it kinda hit on my spiritual side. I know a lot of ppl don’t like this book but I love the idea of the ability of tapping into the collective energy of thoughts. And what a place to read the book. Varanasi vibrates with positivity and the collective thought of Shiva, that it’s impossible not to feel something. I am continuously at peace and in the most loveliest of moods in Varanasi. I also love his other books Angels & Demons and the Da Vinci Code.

The Shiva Trilogy by Amit – on that same trip I chanced upon meeting the author himself at a signing in Kolkata and got the very last book of the series I had been waiting for months signed. I love how he told the legend of Shiva as mortal who is later immortalised. Loved all three books. Not sure if he sparked followers but I found a series of similar kind of books (yet to be read) during my last book hunt in Madras.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman – the book that made me fall in love with Gaiman. Oh my god that man is so amazing, both in his books and online. My favourite of his books is Neverwhere, followed by American Gods. Now I’m on a quest of reading everything he’s written and owning those books.

The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseni – the book that made me cry. The only book to movie attempt that I thought was pretty accurate to the writers vision.

Tuesdays with Morries by Mitch Albom – I watched the hallmark movie first and was intrigued by the beautiful story and thus began my quest to read his books. The 5 people you meet in Heaven being another favourite. I kept this as the last one I read and still such a beautiful story.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl – I laughed and laughed so much, another author I’m slowly collecting everything he’s written. Every single book of amazing tales.

The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh – A tale of war, love and cross country journeys that brilliant wove Burma, India and Malaya in what was often heartbreaking tale. I love quite a bit of his books including the sea of poppies.

The Burma Siam Railway by Dr Robert Hardie – I’m not sure if you can still find this book it was cough cough borrowed for me by my dad and is very precious to me. The book, is a secret diary of a POW Dr on the Burma-Siam Railway building that saw 16,000 POW die. I’m fascinated by this part of history as so many Malaysians never came back after becoming POWs. I’ve just purchased a few more books and am extremely excited that I will be heading there soon.

The Classics – I grew up reading them and have favourites such as The Grimm Fairy tales that had me looking under rocks for fairies; Peter Pan – where I wished I too could fly; Robinson Crusoe for all the adventurers he made me want to go, how I would love to go to liliput; Pride and Prejudice – while I too swoon over Mr Darcy but it is Elizabeth that I was fascinated with, she defied convention and spoke her mind; Around the world in eighty days – again adventure (explains my undying thirst for travel right? ;p); Snow White, Shakespeare, The Hardy Boys (I preferred this to Nancy Drew though I read her too, the Secret Five (you see theres an adventure thing going on?), I spent weekends cycling with friends or on my own imagining I was solving some big mystery!; Troy, Ceaser, the Greek mythologies.Gods, Kings & Slaves: The Siege of Madurai by R Venketesh – this book has been written in the classic tamil literature style of story telling, part history, part fiction on the rise and fall of Madurai and I loved it. Wish he would write more in English as Im too lazy to read in Tamil. My reading language of preference is English.

How shall I tell the Dog by Miles Kingston – this is the funniest and the saddest book I have ever read. Knowing that he had not long to live, the author writes a series of letters to friends and family talking about life, what caught his fancy then and his impending death. The book was published after his passing and now I am looking for more of his work.

The Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy – bless her soul, another author that has passed on. The author wrote books that revolved around the streets of one irish town. Often her books were connected and you’ll only realise it midway through the book. Reading her books has made me want to go to Ireland. Perhaps one day.

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells – it’s the story of 5 friends who grew up together, theres 2 more books in the series but this is my favourite.

Ops theres 12 books listed. Err besides these theres so many books I wish I could list. I would love to tag some fellow readers but but I don’t know if they want to be tagged ;pV-Eyez ImageryMy photography blogV-Eyez Imagery on Facebook

Friday, August 15, 2014

When my father was diagnosed with kidney failure, numerous overzealous Christians, Muslims and atheist told us we should convert to their religion or give up religion (atheists) to save him. As their respective faith or no faith were the only cure for his disease. i was 14 years old and i had one question for them then

"Can you guarantee my fathers 100 percent recovery from kidney failure if i converted to your religion? or stopped having faith?"

No one could answer me then.

So to overzealous folks who feel a need to convert others.

If you can guarantee that you can bring back my now long dead father, I will convert to your religion. otherwise please take all your preaching attempts far away from me.

I am a very happy Hindu who loves her faith and knows no religion can guarantee anything.

PS: This post is in response to someone who tried to preach their religion to me on Twitter as below

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

One of the reports I read had this story about this man in Torez, Ukraine where MH17 crashed after being shot. He heard the loud crash and walked out of his house and found a childs body in his backyard.

Horrified and worried a dog might harm the childs body, he rushes to the local morgue with the child.

Somehow that story stuck to me. I have no words to describe what these people have witnessed, what they’ve gone through and are still going through.

I see them leave flowers and toys, I see them volunteer to help cover the victims or find and locate them. So many have done what they could in their limited capacity.

I know we criticise how things have been handled – the victims, the looting. But these are from what I can see and read a small town stuck in between a war and now a tragedy. The looting I believe was not by all but some heartless people but the pain is real. The hurt is real.

I don’t know what I would do if bodies rained all around me. I know I would be devastated. I am linked only by a plane and its people and I feel so much pain and lost. So imagine what they are going through.

So to the people of Torez, I hope you heal one day from this tragedy. I hope one day the images go. Thank you for doing your best in whatever limitations you had.

To the prime minister – I’ve said it before, I’m not a fan but what you have done for the victims family in this trying times of quietly negotiating for the release of the bodies – I thank you and your team.

The outmost concern here at this point of time is for the families and friends to have closure by getting back the bodies of their loved ones and for that we must thank the team and the PM who had to negotiate in the most diplomating, buruaecratic manner regardless of what we were all feeling.

And for those who still want to say "it's his job" - well the other much more powerful countries couldnt get what is most important now right? And might I add, I read this one yday, you don’t have the ‘real’ evidence. I believe the contract also included safe passage for investigators to the site of the crash.

"In recent days, there were times I wanted to give greater voice to the anger and grief that the Malaysian people feel. And that I feel. But sometimes, we must work quietly in the service of a better outcome - PM Najib."

To all those who have risked their lives to fly to war torn Ukraine in the midst of cross fire to cover this tragedy, investigate, negotiate – thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

To everyone who has had nary a wink of sleep since this tragedy shocked us all – thank you for staying up and doing your jobs in this trying times. I knew some of you who hadn’t slept for more than 48 hours in that first few days.

For those we were critical in those first few days – remember they too grief like us.

My only wish is that these families get the closure they deserve.

May the souls of all lost on MH17 rest in peace and may the families and friends find closure in the coming days. God bless.

Being nice pays - Last week a waiter at an indian restaurant asked me and my colleague why we always thank them, he was only doing his job that he was payed for while wiping our table. So we told him coz you're giving us a service and we appreciate it and promptly thanked him after he was done. he was amused beyond words.

Sunday i ended up going for lunch at a regular restaurant without a single cent. i'd forgotten to go to the bank. i blinked at the counter, told the uncle i'll be back, rushed to the bank and came back to pay them. no questions asked, no wondering if i will pay, no asking for any guarantee.

yday another regular restaurant manager got the kitchen crew to cook me up a meal though they had already closed for last orders. there was no sigh or grudgingness - they were quite happy to get me my meal.

so say your thank yous, your please, one day someone will return the favour.

ps: my short term memory loss gets me in funky situations - not the first time i forgot money, not the first time someone sd no problem.

Monday, July 07, 2014

Though we’ve had a number of yawner games like the recent Netherlands vs Costa Rica. Seriously should have got up at freaking extra time to watch the game. That was how boring it was!

But Van Gaal proved his worthiness as a coach when in the last minute he made the psychological change that led to his sides victory. Tim krul is not known for penalty saves! Yet Costa Rica didn’t know it and all the trash talking he did made a dent as you could see the players tremble before taking the penalties.

Costa Rica were an admirable team but they weren’t better than the Dutch. Defence wise, Navas and the defenders were super brilliant. Quite an amazing display. But that’s the other sad part. We’ve seen some amazing goal keeping this time around but these amazing goalkeepers are out – Ochoa – the Mexican Wall, Tim Howard – Captain America made 16 saves in one game!, the Algerian keeper Rais M’Bohli who was fasting during that last game by the way.

Germany played their usual boring game but they did what I was rooting for them to do, beat France! Woohoo no jinx meeting of France and Brazil.

And then there are my Brazilians who nearly drove me to a heart attack in their last two games. Phew that penalty shootout against Chile was so drama. I had my own drama at the place I was watching it but lets leave that for another day.

The Game against Colombia was a brawl in the making. So many fouls and don’t you dare come and tell me it was just the Brazilians coz I have the stats and a detailed article proving otherwise.

Both sides had one aim – the number 10s. Neymar on one side, James Rodriguez on the other with Neymar being so badly attacked, he’s now totally out of the worldcup! Brawls aside I cannot help but love the Columbians for all the dancing they do. Oh how ive watched them dance everytime they celebrate a goal and at their homecoming!

You Brazil haters can go play far far. And the referee was on no ones side, he should have carded both sides on many occasions but didn’t do so. Wheres the card for injuring neymar??

Ah but what brilliant two goals. Silva at the right place and putting in that unbelievable opportunistic goal and then David Luiz with his WTH long range free kick. Wow what amazing precision.

And what brilliant display of respect. David Luiz and Alvez comforting James Rodriguez and asking the crowd to cheer him must be one of the best moments of this worldcup.

Sadly we are at a very worrying point. Silva is suspended and Neymar is out. I am more concerned about Silva being out as he was good for team morale and more of the connector and play maker for the team than of Neymar. Neymar was everywhere but he was also heavily marked by everyone. Poor guy, the video of him giving hope to his team and the supporters is just heartbreaking.

This has been one trying worldcup for them. When they played docile, they were criticised, when the attacked full force they were again criticised. Nothing seems to have pleased anyone. The truth is the team is a pretty well rounded team. They don’t have only one scorer, anyone can score. Cesar isn’t a bad goalie, but he isn’t great either. I would call them a team that needs each other and not one that relies on one or a few stars which was the undoing of many teams.

Take Argentina, only Messi has really shined and the whole team kinda depends on him. Germany seems to need Klose’s magic every now and then and he sure does give magic. Colombia again had James Rodriguez. Mexico, USA, Costa Rica, Algeria all had one thing in common wall like goalkeepers with gazillion hands or something ;p

Netherlands have average defenders and goalkeeper but they thrive on amazing striking capabilities, experience and of course all that diving Robben does. ;p running joke Krul got diving lessons from Robben ;p

Which is why I still have hope on Brazil. But then I’m that fan that has never given up on her team, who has seen them in their best and worst and still comes out to support them.

So its up to Scolari to create magic. Believe in yourself Brazil, Jogo Bonito, you can do it. No matter what I have truly enjoyed this young sides playing despite all their shortcomings and I believe we will see more magic from most of this bunch in the next world cup as well.

ps: by the way theres a string of links related to these bits and pieces in my twitter, head there especially during the matches ;p